WEEK 8 Project02 – The Use of Rainwater

Introduction of Reading Sensor Value on Blynk App

How Blynk Works

Blynk was designed for the Internet of Things. It can control hardware remotely, it can display sensor data, it can store data, vizualize it and do many other cool things.

There are three major components in the platform:

• Blynk App – allows to you create amazing interfaces for your projects using various widgets we provide.
• Blynk Server – responsible for all the communications between the smartphone and hardware. You can use our Blynk Cloud or run your private Blynk server locally. It’s open-source, could easily handle thousands of devices and can even be launched on a Raspberry Pi.
• Blynk Libraries – for all the popular hardware platforms – enable communication with the server and process all the incoming and outcoming commands.

Features

• Similar API & UI for all supported hardware & devices
• Connection to the cloud using:
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth and BLE
  • Ethernet
  • USB (Serial)
  • GSM
  • …
• Set of easy-to-use Widgets
• Direct pin manipulation with no code writing
• Easy to integrate and add new functionality using virtual pins
• History data monitoring via History Graph widget
• Device-to-Device communication using Bridge Widget
• Sending emails, tweets, push notifications, etc.

from: http://docs.blynk.cc/

Introduction of Arduino Ethernet Shield W5100

The Arduino Wiznet Ethernet W5100 Shield allows an Arduino board to connect to the internet. It is based on the Wiznet W5100 ethernet chip providing a network (IP) stack capable of both TCP and UDP. The Arduino Ethernet Shield supports up to four simultaneous socket connections. Use the Ethernet library to write sketches which connect to the internet using the shield.

From: http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/arduino-wiznet-shield

Testing

From the tutorial provided by Blynk website :https://youtu.be/egGs_jSIKbc

I connected the shield to UNO board, and got a sketch example from: https://examples.blynk.cc/?board=Arduino%20Uno&shield=Ethernet%20Shield%20W5100&example=GettingStarted%2FPushData&auth=07f57ca292e749e488934fb0ff6e87f3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However I can get the IP address, but couldn’t connect to the blynk cloud web.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction of ESP-01 / ESP8266 Wifi module

As the ethernet shield is not working, I decided to try the small wifi chip to make the Arduino UNO connect to the internet.

 

The ESP8266 WiFi Module is a self contained SOC with integrated TCP/IP protocol stack that can give any micro controller access to your WiFi network. The ESP8266 is capable of either hosting an application or offloading all Wi-Fi networking functions from another application processor.

 

Testing

I Added an adapter to this module and connect it as below.

I got a sketch example from: https://examples.blynk.cc/?board=Arduino%20Uno&shield=ESP8266%20WiFi%20Shield&example=GettingStarted%2FPushData&auth=07f57ca292e749e488934fb0ff6e87f3

However the network kept showing “not responding”, it doesn’t work as well. Probably because the module wasn’t in the latest firmware, it should be flashed.

Next Step

As reading the sensor on App seems quite difficult to come true, I ‘m planning on reading sensor data on a LCD or OLED display.